Purdue DL could be late first-round pick

Mar. 28, 2013

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If the Packers select a defensive lineman with their first pick in April’s draft, at No. 26 overall, one of the players who might be on their radar is Purdue’s Kawann Short.

Short, 6-feet-3 3/8 and 303 pounds, will be a defensive end in a 3-4 defensive scheme and a tackle in a 4-3 defense. He lacks the ideal 6-4 or 6-5 height 3-4 teams such as the Packers prefer in defensive linemen, but he’s a little taller than the 3-4 end the Packers drafted in the second round last year (Jerel Worthy at 6-2 3/8) and was a good inside pass rusher at Purdue (19 career sacks).

Short probably will be selected later in the first round or at the top of the second.

He didn’t work out at the NFL scouting combine or his Purdue campus Pro Day on March 1 because of a hamstring injury but worked out for about 20 teams earlier this week. There was nothing eye-catching about Short’s test numbers at his workout, though also nothing that should hurt his draft status.

According to NFL.com, Short ran the 40-yard dash in 5.08 and 5.09 seconds, which is comparable to Missouri’s Sheldon Richardson, a defensive lineman who ran 5.02 seconds at the combine and probably will be selected ahead of him.